Pro Tri groups responds to WTC
A new professional triathlon association debuted a little earlier than intended, announcing its formation yesterday.
The group is called the Professional Triathlon Association (PROTA), and was conceived initially to represent only the interests of American pros. PROTA formed as a non-profit corporation, and is loosely associated with USA Triathlon. America's national governing body gave the group its blessing, and helped fund it through diverting each professional's USAT license dues to PROTA.
American pros perceived a need for such a group partly because non-ITU pros have long contended they receive no funding from USAT, and no representation on its board. PROTA is intended, then, to grant these pros—ITU and non-ITU racers alike—representation not sufficient only through membership on USAT's board of directors.
But the group has since expanded its scope and mandate, choosing to ally with athletes from other countries. The formal announcement of PROTA's existence was not to take place for some weeks, when its website was finished, and a way to easily incorporate non-American pro registrations was in place.
WTC's call for input on its new proposed prize money and Kona qualification architecture impacted PROTA's timetable. WTC announced its proposed revisions in the final week of June, giving its pros only a week to respond.
PROTA quickly convened a board meeting and decided to move its announcement forward, contacting its own registered list of 350 U.S. pros, as well as scores of pros from other countries. A sample letter to WTC was sent to all these athletes, with the admonition for professionals to send the letter to WTC as-is, if the pro agreed with its contents.
The letter to WTC appealed to Ironman's parent company to extend its short input deadline by an extra week, at which point a single representative would speak on behalf of all the pro athletes who chose to have PROTA's representative speak to WTC on their behalf.
According to a PROTA board member, around 100 U.S. and international pros are confirmed to have sent in the letter to WTC so far.
PROTA says its mission is to "expand the quality and quantity of competitions and sponsorships, establish and maintain standards of ethical behavior and safety in the sport, and offer professional development guidelines. PROTA will work with other triathlon organizations including World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and the International Triathlon Union (ITU) to advocate for professional triathletes and their potential concerns."
PROTA is the latest in a long line of professional associations and unions over the three decades of triathlon. A history of many of these associations was presented on Slowtwitch more than a decade ago.
PROTA's board of directors is made up primarily of current professional athletes, however, its president is former USA Triathlon board president Mike Greer. Greer's popular Buffalo Springs race also serves as a WTC affiliate event. Also on the board are Katie Pettibone, an attorney as well as a professional in the sport of sailing and yachting.
PROTA's website, under construction, will be found at this address, and on it's board of directors are the following:
Mike Greer, President
Jarrod Shoemaker, Vice President
Rebeccah Wassner, CPA, Treasurer
Christopher Tremonte, Secretary
Joanna Zeiger
Jordan Rapp
Katie Pettibone
Tom Hamilton
Jesse Thomas
PROTA's next likely step, according to a member of PROTA's board, is to query WTC on the content of the letters asking for a one-week extension. If WTC is agreeable, PROTA and its aligned non-U.S. pros will craft a response to WTC's proposals. PROTA intends to use WTC's framework as a basis, and present a unified athlete proposal under the PROTA banner, through a representative to be selected by both U.S. and non-U.S. athletes who are current, or likely future, WTC race participants.
